Landscape print film choice

Hi Forum users:

Greetings. Just got a Bronica SQ-A with 120 back. Wondering whether there is

any preferred COLOR NEGATIVE film choice for landscape and cityscape

photography. I am looking for saturated color and fine grain. I am using Fuji

Velvia and Provia for slides. Hope veterans would share their knowledge.

Thanks, Subho

Fuji NPC160 (C 160) has saturated yet still realistic colors and fine grain. It is also a very sharp film. Kodak Ultra has saturated colors but they are borderline wild (fun to use for flowers and such).

 

Fuji Reala 100 is also a good choice for landscapes. Very fine grain and realistic colors. I'd say it's kinda between NPC and NPS.

I shoot 2-1/4 professionally and do landscape and aerial work with print film. I have used

both fuji 160 and Kodak 160. I scan all my negs, so I found the Kodak Portra 160vc works

very well. It scans well, it is sharp and it gives me all the color depth I need or want--and I

want a lot. If you are printing through a lab, shoot chrome-if you print traditionally yourself,

you need to play with the various films to see what gives you the results you need, but either

Kodak or Fuji will be plenty sharp.

I agree with Pavel's comment regarding Reala.

This is a very fine grained, sharp film.

If I must shoot colour negative on landscapes, this is what I use.

 

Another plus for me,is that it is readily avcailable in 220 and gives 32 exposures per roll.

Thanks to Pavel, Mona and Collin for sharing with me. I do not have a wet dark room. I am doing a short cut type of thing. I will scan my negatives with my Canon flatbed and see which ones are good. I will send those to a pro lab for better quality scanning and printing.

I think that personal experience in this area is more important then taking someones personal suggestion, unless it is a starting point to try multiple negative film "personalities." Just about any film made will do a particular job better/differently in some respect then others per your own qualifications. There may be slight nuances and then there may be quite large ones. In negative I've shot most of them and find my own preferences, especially when they are printed on particular papers by a particular lab. In talking about digital scanning and printing the question takes on more variables that need to be investigeted by the user. Your preferences are going to be different then mine, so how can I suggest to you what to use? Start with film A, move to film B and C and beyond if necessary. Try different lab papers if you have your stuff printed. It's by real experience that you need to make your own decisions. Any film suggestion above will get you started. I will caution you tho that there are films that do better in a particular light compared to another. As an example I personally do not like Reala in overcast conditions. But using it for beach shots with a Rollei 80mm Planar and printed on now discontinued Agfa paper turned out simply stunning pictures.

Kodak UC400 and Reala side by side in different backs will give you a good comparison, I like both of them. 400UC is also great for handheld shots at night in amusement parks. Not a typical MF assignment, but it worked surprisingly well.

 

I have shot more Reala in 35mm then 6x4.5, and it is an excellent fine grain film that enlarges well with natural colors. My gf is morena and her skin color was well reproduced.

 

Different films, different uses but both are very good at what they do best.

Another vote for Reala - it's a great film for landscapes!